Basket of Services

We have a wide variety of services here at NICRO, including individual counselling, anger management programmes, adult life skills and even a positive parenting programme. We focus on providing services to the community in general – take a look at what services we have on offer.

Individual Counselling

Performed by a clinical social worker, the counselling addresses issues specific to the individual offender. The numbers of sessions are specified as part of the client’s need profile and mandated by court order where relevant.

During counselling the individual and social worker explore difficulties and stressful and emotional feelings of the individual; and helps the individual to focus on feelings, experiences or behaviour, with a goal to facilitating positive change.

Intensive Therapy

As above but on a more intensive and therapeutic level. This service is also used for groups and families as well as individuals.

The treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems, with the goal being relief of symptoms, changes in behaviour leading to improved social and vocational functioning, and personality growth.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Treatment ADAPT

A 12 session programme, specifically for adolescents with high-risk behaviour and/or in conflict with the law and who present drug related behaviour problems. It aims to equip the individual with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to make informative and healthy choices regarding drug use. It also aims to prevent the establishment of a pattern of drug abuse and decreasing the possibility of continuing with a delinquent lifestyle. Drug testing forms a part of this programme. Not suitable for individuals who are addicted to substances.

Anger Management Programme

A 10 session programme designed to address the social functioning skills deficits associated with anger and anger-related behaviours. This programme is suitable for low to medium risk individuals improves individuals’ interpersonal and social functioning skills, with a specific emphasis on anger management and self-control and reduces the likelihood that individuals will resort to anger and aggression to solve problems and deal with anxiety and frustration.

Adult Life Skills

The Adult Lifeskills Programme is a 12 session programme that addresses lifeskills development and enhancement through focussing on core social and cognitive skills that people need to function effectively in society. These typically include emotional self-awareness, the ability to assess one’s skills and strengths accurately, self confidence, empathy, emotional self control, adaptability, achievement orientation, initiative, optimism, conflict management and the ability to interact with others. The aforementioned abilities fall within the domain of social functioning. The ability to adjust and cope in changing life situations while, at the same time, retaining flexible yet stable core traits and value systems is regarded as in indicator of well-being, psychological adjustment and mental health. Psychological gains from life skills development in behaviour management is conceptually valid and worthwhile and best practice.

Beyond Boundaries

The Beyond Boundaries (BB) programme is a youth lifeskills programme, with 9 sessions that is conducted in group format and is intended for high school learners aged 15 – 18 years who are at risk of being in conflict with the law. The programme is offered to low and medium risk youths, and to high risk youths if the BB programme forms one component of a broader more intensive intervention (ie: combined with individual counselling and therapy, etc.).

Community Service Learning

A NICRO programme where diverted or sentenced offenders perform community service as part of their sentence. The court order specifies how many hours are to be completed. Compliance is strictly monitored.

Economic Empowerment Programme

A NICRO programme offered to former offenders and family members that supports work placement and/or participation in income generation initiatives through skills development such as: access to occupational skills training i.e. welding, bricklaying, arts/crafts, plumbing, hairdressing, needlework, beadwork, etc; business skills / entrepreneurial training, post-training, business start-up support to equip beneficiaries to run micro-enterprises; Job finding skills training and referrals to prospective employers; and Poverty alleviation projects and social enterprises.

Journey

The Journey is an intensive experiential intervention programme aimed at high risk youth. The programme’s mission is to serve youth whose behaviours have necessitated placement outside the natural home or community environment. The programme focuses primarily on creating an awareness of personal and societal consequences and the effects of crime and is based on life skills. This programme is mainly for youth with severe behavioural and emotional challenging behaviours.

Me and My Family

Me and My Family is a 10 session group programme that is offered for male offenders to addresses the intergenerational effects of criminal behaviour. The programme seeks to prevent the male children of male offenders from following in their father’s footsteps.

Perpetrator of Interpersonal Violence Programme

A 16 week programme for perpetrators of domestic violence with the goal of breaking the cycle of violence, holding perpetrators accountable for their abusive behaviour and ensuring the safety and the partner and the children.

Positive Parenting Programme

This 12 week programme features comprehensive multi-faceted and developmentally-based curricula for parents. The goal is to reduce risk factors that predispose adolescents to become involved in criminal lifestyles. This is done by enabling the ability of the parents and caretakers to raise children who have the internal defences of high self-esteem, internal locus of control and balance of emotion.

A constructive alternative justice intervention with individuals in conflict with the law. It is used as a decision-making forum that promotes the restorative justice principle of rebuilding disruptive relationships where the focus is on putting things right and not punishment. RGC include restorative panels, victim/offender conferencing, family group conferences and victim impact panels.

Road Offences Panel Programme

This 5 session programme is structured as a short, didactic, educational group-based intervention designed specifically to improve awareness of the dangers and consequences of driving under the influence, as well as reckless and negligent driving. The programme is not intended as a therapeutic behaviour change programme, although it can be rendered in combination with other therapeutic programmes. Its purpose is to have a positive influence on reducing drunk driving and keeping South Africans safe on the road.

Safety Ambassadors

This two year programme seeks to reduce anti-social behaviour among youth at school level by using peers to interact with and influence communities against committing anti-social acts. The peer socialization model of the programme underpins that the process of creating partnerships within and without the school community leads to pro-social action and a supportive environment that supports behavioural change. This programme is school specific.

Tough Enough Programme

The Tough Enough Programme (TEP) is a one year prison programme that focuses on pre-release preparation and reintegration of released offenders through enhancing and/or developing protective factors such as emotional and vocational lifeskills, relationships and resources. Effective counselling, development opportunities and support are thus provided on both sides of the prison wall.

Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES)

A 12 session group based programme that offers a constructive alternative to other methods used in dealing with young offenders and can be used either as a diversionary option or as alternative sentencing. The programme seeks to influence major social and psychological factors that contribute and promote the early involvement in and the onset of a delinquent and high risk lifestyle. The programme seeks to enhance and strength resilience, resistance, personal self-management and general social skills of young offenders.